This invention relates to a corn harvester that is used for removing corn ears from row-planted stalks, and more particularly to an improved attachment for such a harvester to prevent the loss of corn ears from the machine during the harvesting operation.
A corn harvesting machine such as a corn head, which is mounted on the front end of a combine, or a corn picker that is either mounted on or towed by tractor, conveniently includes a plurality of laterally spaced forwardly extending gathering members or dividers that ride between the rows as the machine advances to direct the stalks of the crops into fore and aft passages between the adjacent dividers. The dividers conventionally include hood-like shield structures that are inclined downwardly and forwardly and taper to a forward gathering point that is normally positioned between the adjacent rows.
It is known to provide removable shield extensions that extend upwardly from the shield structures on at least the inner dividers adjacent to and slightly forwardly of the point in the passageway between the dividers where the ear of corn is stripped from the stalk, so that the ears of corn that fall on top of the shield structure do not fall out the front of the machine, the extensions deflecting the crop laterally to the conveying mechanisms along the passages, which then convey the ears rearwardly into the machine. While the shield extensions are desirable when the crop is standing upright, when the crop is down and tangled the stalks are divided and raised by the dividers or gathering members, the stalks sliding rearwardly along top of the divider shield structures. In such a case, the shield extensions, which extend upwardly from the shield structures, can interfere with the rearward and upward movement of the stalks along the top of the shield structure, and in such conditions, it is desirable to remove the shield extensions. While on present commercially available corn heads, the shield extensions have been removable, the removal has been relatively laborious and time-consuming, so that the harvesting machine operator tends to leave the extensions on or off, as the case may be, even though the machine is not conditioned for optimum performance in the particular crop condition.
To overcome the problem, an easily removable shield extension was proposed by the inventor herein, the earlier design of the shield extension being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,393, which is also assigned to the assignee herein. However, the shield extension shown in said patent proved to be too complicated and costly for provision on production machines.